I Noticed
by orphan mia
Summary: It's Christmas Eve and Hiei is missing something. Where is Botan? Is she okay? These thoughts run in his head as he decides to go and find out. Holiday HB romance! REVIEW!you know you want to oneshot!


I Noticed

A/N: This is my first HB one-shot! I got this idea watching "There She is : Cake Dance" on you tube. I know, it sounds strange, but trust me, it's adorable! Okay, back on track, this is set around the holidays, and I guess you could say that this is my gift to you. I just wanted to thank all of you for reading my stories and reviewing, and I love the support! Read and Review!

I

The date was December twenty fourth, and it was snowing. Children were singing and the older kids were telling them stories. People were laughing. Crying. Loving.

Yusuke was with Keiko that night, and nothing seemed out of place for him. He was spending it with the woman he loved. He held her to him, whispering how hard it was to stay in Makai when he thought about her. She told him that she loved him, because it was, after all, the honest truth.

Kuwabara was with Yukina and Genkai. He told her tales of how he rescued her and how he fought demons and saved the world with Yusuke. Each and every word was heard by the Koorime, her eyes wide with wonder. That night, the two friends, or perhaps something more, shared their first kiss under the mistletoe.

Kurama was at home with his mother, and Shizuru was with him. At first, the kitsune had been nervous. Shizuru had never been over his house before, and he thought that she might freeze up and be quiet because she didn't know his mother. To his great relief, she was amazing. She laughed and joked, and later on that night, when the house was dark and quiet, she whispered into his ear that his mother made her feel right at home. Like she belonged with him. Kurama was overjoyed, to say the very least.

One person from the Rekai Tentei, however, was not having a normal night.

Hiei sat awake in his tree, not watching the snowflakes. His face was wrinkled in a frown of annoyance, and... could it be... worry?

His arms were crossed as he growled softly. He looked out into the sky, his red eyes searching for something. Anything. He never saw it.

_Where is she?_

Botan had always visited him this time of year. This day, this hour, she would be in his tree, talking to him, and usually she gave him something. Her blue hair would be up, as usual, and her pink eyes would be full of joy.

_Where is she?_

Hiei didn't like it at first. It was an annoyance, but somehow, she managed to worm her way under his skin. She bought him ice cream. Tools to sharpen his sword. New battle clothes. Even armor. She never expected anything in return.

_Where is she?_

Hiei bit his lip. What if something was wrong? What if she was in danger? The Koorime snorted. The baka ferry onna, in danger? No way. She had that brat fawning over her. The thought made the fire demon snarl with disgust. _As if he would be even close to deserving her. _

He waited, the snowflakes gathering in the folds of his black cloak. The Koorime fidgeted. Something had to be wrong. She would have been here by now. Now, don't think that Hiei welcomed these worries. He hated them. He had no idea why he cared, but the more he tried to push them away, they came back with much more intensity than before. Finally, he couldn't take it any longer.

II

Hiei ran. He followed her energy, as weak as it was. He battled the snow that stung his face. He arrived at a strange housing complex. He walked in, and he had to dodge holiday singers, pestering kids, and even some sort of manager.

"Hey you! What are you doing? If you are a guest, you have to page up to the room!"

Hiei looked over his shoulder at a fat man who was slicking back his hair. The Koorime raised an eyebrow.

"Hn. Fascinating."

The demon continued walking and he heard a shout of objection behind him.

"You can't do that! After him! Security!"

Hiei snorted until he was almost tackled to the ground by a larger man. Hiei straightened his cloak, preparing to fight the man. That was when four others came out of nowhere, all of them cracking their knuckles.

Hiei frowned. They were weak. Pitifully weak, even the onna was stronger than them! At least she had advanced white magic! All these morons had were big and useless muscles. Hiei thought about pulling out his katana, but decided against it. _Koenma would throw a fit. _

The men took a step towards him.

"Come on little man, just page your person or get out. It's Christmas Eve, we really don't want to deal with this, and neither do you."

Hiei finally gave up. He pulled out his katana, and the men all took two steps back, bristling like the dogs they were.

"Just leave me be."

And, before their very eyes, the little demon vanished.

III

Hiei had to say that he enjoyed the looks of fright on the monkeys' faces. It gave him satisfaction to know that he set some baka nigens in their place. He was walking up the stairs when he heard a door slam open.

"In here! He's probably in the stair well!"

A chatter.

"I DON'T CARE WHAT HE HAS! FIND HIM!"

Hiei heard footsteps coming up the stairs. And they were coming up fast. Hiei ran up the stairs and into the nearest floor. He scowled when he realized that the onna was up about three floors. Hiei growled and opened a window. He stepped out into the snow and started jumping up floors.

He passed some windows. A little girl had her window open, and Hiei slipped on some ice, and had to catch himself on the sill. The child let out a gasp of surprise, but soon looked at him.

"Hey, mister. What'cha doin?"

Hiei looked into the girl's eyes.

"Trying to find an onna."

The little girl giggled.

"Are you an elf helping Santa?"

Hiei raised an eyebrow.

"Am I a what?"

The girl reached out and touched his one ear, and Hiei decided to spare her since she was an innocent little girl.

"An elf. Your ears are pointy like elf ears."

Hiei bit down a groan of annoyance.

"Yes. I'm an elf." He smirked as she gasped, a blush spreading across her face. Hiei put a finger to his lips. "Not a word."

The little girl nodded, zipping her lips with her fingers. Hiei gave a cut nod and jumped up and out of sight. However, on his way up, one of the guards saw him.

"Boss! He's outside! He's climbing!"

Hiei looked under him and saw a large cretin sticking his head out a window, looking up at him with a stupid gaze. The Koorime pressed himself to the side of the building, letting his cloak camouflage him.

Hiei rolled his blood red eyes as he continued, his clothes soaked as he continued his journey. He finally made it to her window. He could feel her on the other side. Hiei frowned. Well, this was it. He heard shouts of the men coming for him. He used his sword to open the window, slipping into the warm air of Botan's apartment.

IV

Hiei dripped on the floor, but he ignored that. He looked around. He seemed to be in her bedroom. It smelled just like her. Vanilla, some mint, but with a dash of enticing spice. Her bed was white, and it had a light blue comforter on it. The demon looked around at the walls. To his astonishment, they were bare all except for some pictures of the Rekai Tentei.

He had expected lots of pink and happy things. He crossed his arms. _The baka ferry onna is modest in her taste after all. _

He opened the door, and turned down a small hallway. He felt her energy coming from a room. That was when a disgusting stench hit his nostrils. He looked in the door, and he was shocked at what he saw.

There was Botan, her back to him, stirring a put of what looked to be boiling green plants. Her arms were pale and clammy. She was trembling as she stood. The Koorime looked at the table. There was a bowl with a blunt wooden masher, and green paste was inside it. Some was already in a jar.

The ferry girl sniffed and stopped stirring. She took a shaky step back, and she ran her fingers through her hair. She wobbled, but caught the counter. Hiei knew that if she stood again, she was a goner.

"Baka onna! What are you doing?"

The ferry girl flinched. She turned around so that Hiei could see her face. The demon almost stepped back when he saw it.

She had red rings under her pink eyes, never a good sign. Her face was grey, and she looked so... terribly ill that Hiei had to admit that he felt _something _tug inside him.

"Hiei...? What are you... doing here...?" She slid to the floor, her mind off of what she was working on. Hiei walked to her hurriedly, taking her into his arms. He tried to take her to her bedroom, but she wiggled in his arms. "No! I'm not done!"

The fire demon shook her. Not too roughly, but enough to make her stop moving about in his arms.

"Baka! You're killing yourself..."

Botan fell silent. Hiei carried her to her bed. He threw back the covers and put her under them, taking care to not touch her. Her skin would burn under such a sinners hand.

"What are you making?"

Botan sneezed before she answered Hiei's question, who was now sitting on the foot of her bed.

"I was making you an herbal healing paste. It's..." Another sneeze, "the best in all of Makai. It was hard to find the ingredients... but I did it."

She managed to pull off a sweet smile, and Hiei glowered.

"Is that why you are sick?"

Botan blinked at him. No doubt she was surprised that he cared. So was Hiei.

"Well... yes. Some of the places were... stormy and cold." She coughed and Hiei's arm twitched, like it wanted to reach out to her, but it changed its mind at the last second. "I thought that you... wouldn't... notice... or care."

Hiei was silent. That healing paste. It was the best. Mukuro had some, and she would sometimes give him some. It was in small amounts, nothing compared to what was in the kitchen. The onna sneezed again.

Hiei got up without a word and went back into the kitchen, turning everything off. He found a small tea cup and he filled it with cold water. He went back to her room, and the ferry onna looked at him with a puzzled expression. _Did she really think I would just leave her? Baka... _

"Drink." She shook her head, but she soon found Hiei's slender fingers were holding her chin. "Drink now, onna." Hiei poured it down into her mouth once she parted her pink lips. The demon felt her forehead. She was hot. She had a pretty good fever. Hiei scowled. "Botan?"

Botan felt all the air leave her lungs. They both realized that this was the first time that he had called her by her name.

"W-what?"

"Don't ever do this again."

It wasn't a threat, but it wasn't a request either. It was a demand. Botan trembled.

"But... I thought that you..."

Hiei interrupted her, his lips pouting as he tried to maintain eye contact with her.

"I notice, onna."

"B-but... you hate me..."

She coughed weakly, and she laid back on her pillow, closing her eyes. She heard a dark and bitter chuckle. It sounded like it was laughing at a very cruel irony.

"Baka..." Botan didn't open her eyes until she felt two soft lips cover her own. Her heart stopped and she felt her face turn red. Hiei whispered against her lips. "I never hated you."

V

Yusuke was with Keiko. Kuwabara was with Genkai and Yukina. Kurama was with his family and Shizuru. Everything was relatively normal for them. Love, cheer, happiness, that old chestnut.

However, two members of the Rekai Tentei were not having a normal night.

Hiei was at peace. Sure, his heart was fluttering in his chest, not that he would EVER admit it, and a light blush tinted his cheeks.

Botan was confused and yet couldn't stop grinning. For once, she couldn't think of a single thing to say. Nothing. The two just sat there and stared at each other. Hiei used telepathy to tell her that she shouldn't make him worry like that. That was a baka for trying to make a rare Makai paste.

Botan just giggled at his words, making the short fire demon growl with annoyance. She reached out and played with his bangs, allowing her hand to slip down and touch his cheek. They kissed once more.

For that moment, the five men looking for Hiei were even more unimportant than before. He didn't care about how he was still soaking wet. He didn't care that he cared about the onna... no... Botan. Only one thing mattered to both of them.

_I noticed..._

The End

VI

A/N: Kawaii? I hope it is! I just had to write this for the holiday season! So, please watch the video my Sambakza. Just look that up on youtube and you'll get some good results! Please tell me what you think, flames, or critique acclaims, I don't care! Review please!

-mia


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